AJ Dybansta Commitment

The time is finally here. Anicet Dybantsa Jr., better known as AJ Dybansta, AKA the prospect from Isla Nublar, has made his long-awaited college decision. AJ Dybansta is the prize of the 2025 recruiting class for so many reasons. He is an athletic wing with tremendous positional size at 6’9, advanced shot-creation skills, real two-way potential, and ever-growing talents elsewhere.

The journey for AJ began in Brockton, Massachusetts, where he grew up in “the olde towne” area for several years. He exploded as a recruit during his 8th grade and freshman year in high school while playing for St. Sebastian’s. Later, he turned a house fire into a forest fire when he led the 17u Peach Jam competition in scoring (25.8 points) while playing for Expressions Elite as a rising sophomore. The excitement was through the roof for him as a recruit and prospect, so he made the wise decision to reclassify up into the 2025 class and transfer to Prolific Prep, where he teamed up with the number 1 ranked player in 2026, Tyran Stokes, and what became 3 McDonalds All-Americans Aiden Sherell, Zoom Diallo, and Derrion Reid. During his junior year, he shined as he led his team to the Geico Nationals as a three-seed, won player of the year in the Grind Session, and participated in the Nike Hoop Summit during his junior season while representing Jamaica-Congo. After his junior year, he started gaining an unbelievable amount buzz.

Some people said he is the best American-born prospect in the world over Cooper Flagg; he is primed to lead the league in scoring once he gets there, and others said he is one of the best high school recruits in the last decade. After another outstanding summer on the EYBL circuit, this time with the Oakland Soldiers, he decided to transfer to Utah Prep, which caught a lot of people by surprise. Utah Prep is a school located in Hurricane Utah and competes in the Grind Session (the same conference as Prolific Prep). So far, he has been lighting the world on fire with Utah Prep to begin his senior season. His high school career has been up there with one of the best; as a prospect, he is a special one. Onto the recruiting journey because it has been spicy and full of people’s unwanted opinions on what should or should not be happening. Naturally, the number 1 recruit will have a closely monitored recruiting process, so some of this is not unexpected, but in the era we live in now, it makes more people bring out their fogy magnifying glasses. AJ, during his junior season, took official visits to Auburn and USC, but after a non-eventful and confusing summer for his recruitment, he dropped an unexpected top 7 that featured Baylor, North Carolina, BYU, Alabama, Auburn, Kansas, and Kansas State. He officially visited everyone on that list except for Baylor, and then the favorites emerged. BYU, Alabama, Kansas State, and North Carolina were the four favorites who all realistically had a chance. Many people characterized this recruitment as the highest bidder wins, but they were far from being right (in my opinion) and started to create false narratives about AJ’s character and desire as a player. Once decision time came, there was a clear favorite, and all the surprises were out of the bag due to reports and a simple temperature check.

AJ's list of accolades is long. He led the Peach Jam in scoring back-to-back years, won the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year his freshman year, won the Grind Session Championship and POY, won the NEPSAC Class A state championship, led his EYBL team to the Peach Jam title game, led the NBA Player Association Top 100 camp in scoring, and has won 2 gold medals playing for the youth FIBA USA teams. Dybansta is one of the most coveted wings in the country. Don’t let American Deli or WingStop tell you otherwise, so let’s take our jeweler's loupe and look at the rare recruit gem called AJ Dybansta and why this gem chose his temporary home.

Image is from: thecircuthoops Instagram

The Analyzation of AJ Dybansta 

To me, AJ is the recruit from Isla Nublar because he has some rare characteristics and a polished skill set that is hardly seen by someone his age or size. Dybansta is an unreal player, prospect, and recruit because he is a 6’9, fluidly athletically gifted shot creator with no mundane aspect of his game. During the summer with the Oakland Soldiers on the EYBL Circut, he averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.7 steals while additionally averaging 23.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.0 steals during Peach Jam. AJ posses the shot creation golden ticket. Once he became interested in basketball and opened the chocolate bar called “Ballislife,” he was unexpectedly gifted the shot-creation golden ticket. AJ has the mental makeup of a scoring assassin by how well he metaphorically rips your heart out (like Nizwar Karanj from Indiana Jones). He is an elite shotmaker in the mid-range, an excellent pull-up shooter in isolations, a fantastic downhill scorer, a very good post scorer, a capable scorer without the ball, and an intelligent 3-level scorer in ball screens and isolations. Aside from the handle, shooting touch, scoring feel, and versatile scoring tools that he possesses (which we will look into in a bit), athletically, AJ has all the necessary traits and abilities that all of the best scoring wings have to gain even more offensive advantages. 

He has excellent burst as a driver, is a fluid athlete who can attack all angles and get to all kinds of spots, and has excellent explosiveness, which helps him be a great transition player and finisher above the rim. His fluidity as an athlete helps him as a scorer a ton because it helps him get lower than his defender, flow to his spots in traffic as a ball handler, and create separation and driving lanes much more effectively. Now, when he gets to his spots and the rim, his vertical explosiveness takes over as he can leap off 1 or 2 feet and catch bodies like his name is James A. Janisse. He can routinely finish above the rim and use his explosiveness to put on a show in the open floor and finish through traffic when needed in the halfcourt. 

However, AJ is far from someone who strictly uses athleticism to create shots and points. He blends skills and athletic tools like some of the best offensively slanted wings from the past. His handle is among the best in this class because AJ has a sound feel for what moves to use against his defenders, polished footwork, a fantastic ability to get lower than his defender to gain leverage, and a diverse, funky, and fluid set of dribble combinations for all types of defenders and coverages. I love his ability to get lower than his defender when handling the ball and attacking the basket because it helps him be a constant paint touch and get by his defender cleanly and frequently. He also covers ground extremely well, using his long strides whenever attacking off the drive and mixing some funkiness into his shot-creating abilities. He uses odd body and head movements to get defenders to bite on his dribble combos, attacks uncommon angles, and perplexes and weaves through defenders with his, at times, loose handle and odd pace. His shot-creation abilities are even more impressive because he can create shots without dribbling because of his assortment of jabs, pump-fakes, and crafty moves within a triple-threat stance. He gets his defender to bite on all kinds of jab steps and pump-fakes, and this helps him make even quicker decisions and be an even more versatile shot creator. His ball-handling abilities, combined with his ability to hit his defenders with jab steps, rocker steps, pump-fakes, and footwork combinations, are like giving an elite boxer like Tank Davis the jiu-jitsu of Charles Oliveria. The handle can get a bit loose in traffic, which causes him to have some turnovers and dribble himself into problematic spots on the court. Like I said earlier, the looseness in his handle still helps him as a shot creator because it can help him weave through traffic in the halfcourt and really deceive his defender in space. Learning how to balance that fine line of handling the ball loosely could help him limit some turnovers and turn him into a nuclear shot-creator with the ball. 

Now, let's move on to his abilities to finish shots at the rim and make jumpers from all over the floor because they both help him be the best 3-level scorer under 19 years old. AJ is a terrific downhill scorer who does an excellent job using his long strides to get to the basket, length to score on extension finishes, touch to score on floaters, and athleticism to finish lobs and above the rim. AJ is a pain in the lane whenever he is driving to the basket, and he is even more a pain because of how well he gets to the free-throw line. AJ draws fouls at an extremely high rate when attacking the basket because he does not shy away from contact and absorbs contact like a sponge when trying to finish at the rim. He averaged seven free-throw attempts a game throughout all of EYBL and had seven games where he shot double-digit free throws. He also shot 81.7% from the line. AJ is an awesome finisher and scorer at the rim, but his jumper is lethal and eye-opening at times because of the shots he can hit off the bounce. 

Mechanically, his shot looks pretty lovely; everything is in one motion, his arc after he releases is good (but at times, it can look a little sus), and everything is balanced and fluid from his base to release. However, there are some odd things to point out in his shooting mechanics. The elbow of his shooting arm is very exaggerated and cocked back in his shooting pocket, which makes it stand out awkwardly when watching him shoot, and his shooting pocket is a tad bit in front of his face. Those are mostly nitpicks, though, because his base is clean and consistent as he 1-2 steps into his shots, the windup into his shot is very quick and fluid, and his upper mechanics are clean and one motion off the catch and dribble. AJ’s size also helps his shooting mechanics and jumper overall. His 6’9 frame makes his shot incredibly hard to contest because he can shoot over all kinds of defenders regardless of a contest, which allows him to bail himself out when he has no separation. His mechanics, touch, skills, and size allow him to make pull-up jumpers off handoffs, ball screens, face-ups, off one dribble, in isolation, transition, from NBA range, from a standstill, or whenever he is going right or left. AJ is an elite mid-range shot-maker who thrives in the in-between space of the floor. AJ shot 55.4% on 2-pointers during the entire EYBL season, mainly because of his mid-range shot-making ability. He is deadly in the mid-range, and most of his production comes from his in-between game, which is vital for someone who sees themselves as a primary offensive option on higher levels. 

One of the common questions you hear or see people discuss when dissecting AJ is his 3-point jumper because he shot 32.9% on 3.3 attempts from deep during the entire EYBL season. Not outstanding or ride home about numbers from 3 this past summer, but he can make some difficult shots from deep and be a threat off the catch. He is more of a shot maker from 3 rather than a shooter because his volume is low, and he can have some games where he makes zero 3-pointers. Being a shot-maker is much better than being a complete non-threat from there, and really, his “issues” from deep revolve around volume and consistency. The low volume from 3 primarily stems from where he spots up and operates on the court. He likes to operate inside the arc, attack closeouts off the drive, and create out-of-face ups in 2-point range. AJ is more than capable of making you pay from deep, so his 3-point shooting is more like a work in progress than a weakness. AJ’s issues as a scorer mostly come from his overconfidence and inconsistent situational awareness as a driver and shot-maker. He can struggle with his shot selection and try to force things as a driver, which are some of the causes of his turnovers and missed opportunities on offense. Some nuance as a driver, negating the poor foul-hunting shots, and some refinement to his shot IQ could help him be even more efficient than he already is (50.4% from the field during EYBL)  and limit his bad decisions. 

Due to the reasons we just discussed, AJ has a Jupiter-like offensive gravity. He often draws multiple defenders toward him and creates passing windows, which allows his ever-growing playmaking repertoire to be displayed and used to empower his teammates. During his time on the EYBL circuit, he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7:2.4 (Regular season plus Peach Jam). So far, throughout his senior year, he has shown a pleasantly improved passing repertoire whenever he draws 2 to the ball or initiates actions. The potential for him to be a very good passer who averages above five assists per game is very high because he has shown tons of flashes of being able to make tight window passes and high-level skip passes off a live dribble to the weak side. He reads help defenders very well and has a high feel for passing windows. He routinely finds shooters whenever their man digs on his drives, helps off them from the nail, or shads towards him when stationary, posting up, or operating in the pick and roll. He is still score-first-minded and looks to score before making a high-level pass, but there are possessions of him being a proactive passer and capable table setter when needed. Overall, he is someone you can not easily double-team to take him out of the game. He can make opponents second guess when sending extra defenders his way and initiate actions for others. 

Defensively, AJ is a defender who always guards the opposing team's best offensive player, whether a guard, big, wing, or forward. He does a great job using his tools to be a good defensive playmaker and switchable on-ball defender. His 6’11 wingspan helps him be very disruptive defensively, whether he is on or off the ball. His length allows him to rack up deflections off the ball, get into ball handlers' space for on-ball steals, and contest almost every shot possible. He condenses the court well for opposing offenses and provides a ton of switchability to his team's defense. AJ used to be a raw defender who lacked the understanding of on-ball defensive principles, focus as a low man off the ball, and perspective of how dangerous his tools can truly be. However, because of his size and willingness, he still was positive but struggled with high-level creators and smart offensive teams on the high school level. Now, he can rack up impressive steal and block numbers while simultaneously being a real switchable pest on the ball. Typically, those improvements aren’t seen until college or in the league because they are not required until they are on higher levels. AJ has shown clear focus and determination throughout his high school career regarding improving defensively and being a high-level player on that end. He still has some lapses off the ball as a help defender by not making the proper rotations, forgetting to contest shots at the rim, and botching defensive coverages. Even with those issues in help (which are totally fixable), he does not shy away from the challenging assignments on defense and is very disruptive due to his tools and good enough defensive instincts. 

AJ is the best player in this class for all the reasons we delved into, but he is not the chip skylark of the 2025 recruiting class. Is he super good and otherworldly talented? Yes, but he is not the clear and far-away best player in the 2025 recruiting class because Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer are right behind him. A trio more headlines the 2025 recruiting class as they collectively generate attention and excitement in the basketball world, similar to the Jonas Brothers or the Golden Trio from Harry Potter. This means that AJ is not someone who can McGregor walk into the first overall selection when the 2026 NBA draft comes because there are some things he needs to continue to improve on and continue to grow. Don't get it twisted, though; he is the best prospect in the world, not draft-eligible, and I am super excited to see him play in college and at the premier high school events in the late winter and spring. But, like many recruits and young players, evolution and adaption are required to get better and stick on higher levels of basketball, and AJ certainly is not excluded from those things. The archetype AJ falls into is rare, and his defensive abilities make his archetype even rarer than a purple carrot. I know these expectations are grand, but at AJ’s best, he is an MVP-caliber wing/forward who can be the leading creator for a contending team. The potential and upside for AJ are extraordinary, but continued growth and hunger are needed for him to meet his potential. His character, love for basketball, continued improvement from game to game, and willingness to compete against the best have all shown that the worries about him stagnating as a player are stupid and that we should have some managed beliefs that he will achieve his ceiling and potentially raise his ceiling to heights comparable to the planet Saturn. He is a different type of player and his college decision definitely relates to his basketball skills.

Image is from: aj.dybansta Instagram

AJ is officially God's gift to Provo

Who would have thought that the number one overall recruit and potentially one of the best American-born prospects since Zion Williamson would commit to BYU? Other than the obvious religious rules that the university has that would create questions about this commitment, him not committing to a traditional Blue or even New Blood raises some eyebrows. It intrigues me positively because it is different from the usual, and we are starting to see a potential new powerhouse beginning to be built. BYU is becoming an intriguing development ground for NBA prospects and recruits not solely because of the money they have from their boosters and NIL fund but mostly because of the professional approach they use to run their basketball program with under newly hired Kevin Young. His experience as an NBA assistant coach, the players he has coached, the NBA scheme he implements into his team, and his understanding of how to put players into the best situations to succeed make him an easy coach to play for and trust.

This is why AJ considered BYU in the first place and ultimately committed to them. He clearly wants to be developed in the most NBA-like atmosphere while playing in college. This decision was not solely driven by money like many people think or try to preach because BYU is running NBA actions, playing with an NBA pace, carrying themselves like a Mormon NBA team, and competing in what is usually the best conference in college basketball, the Big-12. Dont get it twisted, though he is getting paid a lot of money as it was reported that his deal was around 7 million dollars.

Before I discuss his on-court fit with the potential roster and system next season, we have to start with his potential fit in next year's Big 12 because it will be so much fun. Next year, the Big 12 will bring in nine 5-star recruits (including him) and could add two more. Including him, 4 of the nine 5-stars are ranked in the top 10, so not only will the young talent be there for him to compete against, but we know the Big 12 will bring in great transfers, keep their All-Conference players, and have high-level coaches like Bill Self, Scott Drew, Tommy Lloyd, Kelvin Sampson, and many more for him to compete against. The Big 12 will be full of opportunities for him to prove himself and have some big-time games.

Now for his on-court fit with the Cougars. BYU will likely return Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall, who are both solid 3-point shooters who will space the floor for him; Keba Keita will be an awesome pick-and-roll partner for him; Elijah Crawford will be a suitable table-setting point guard for him and, potentially, Kannon Catchings could be a duo partner on the wing. The potential pairing between Catchings and AJ could be really fun if Kannon stays because he could be a great floor spacer and off-ball scorer next to AJ offensively and defensively; they could become one of the most disruptive and switchable wing duos in the Big 12 due to their length and on-ball defense.

BYU is likely getting the best player in college basketball next season, and now the other schools that did not secure this commitment might be in trouble. Alabama and Kansas are two schools that will be hurting a bit because of the talent that AJ is, but the Jayhawks have arguably the second-best recruit in 2025, Darryn Peterson, coming in, and Alabama has so much talent that could return from this year’s roster like Derrion Reid, Philon, Stevenson, Sherell, etc. Sadly, North Carolina and Kansas State are the biggest losers of this recruitment because they both put a ton of time into this recruitment and needed someone with AJ’s talent. Neither school has a recruit ranked in the top 50 on the consensus board, and both schools this season look like they are borderline to nontournament teams. BYU landed a stud and showed their true power on the recruiting trail from here on out.